St. Viator answers Hersey's challenge, earns win
St. Viator saw a 6-point lead against cross-town rival Hersey dissolve into a 1-point fourth quarter deficit, but the host Lions did what good teams do in stressful situations.
They answered Hersey's run with one of their own and went on to take a 56-46 nonconference boys basketball victory at Cahill Gym Saturday, the ninth straight win for St. Viator against Hersey dating back to 2010.
Brent Wolff's 3-point basket gave Hersey just its second lead of the game, 39-38, early in the fourth quarter, capping a 7-0 run that erased a 38-32 deficit. Hersey's surge was fueled by baskets from Ben Randall (team-high 12 points) and Andrew Wagner.
"The comeback was a lot of hard work, being patient on offense, breaking down their first line of defense," Hersey coach Austin Scott said. "And we made some shots to get back in it."
St. Viator answered with a 10-2 run to regain control at 48-41. Baskets by Connor Kochera, Aidan Harrington and Michael Huene started the ball rolling, and then Kochera took over, sandwiching 8-of-8 from the free-throw line around a basket in the final 2:49.
Kochera finished with a game-high 30 points, but they didn't come easily, as Hersey shadowed him from start to finish.
"Coming into the season I was kind of expecting that," Kochera, a William & Mary commit, said. "I just don't let it get to my head. I play my game and try to get my teammates involved and do what I can on the offensive end to help our team win."
"They did a heck of a job trying to take him away," St. Viator coach Quin Hayes said. "They made him work really hard. But at the end of the day, Connor relishes those. He loved playing in environments like this.
"His confidence is through the roof and his confidence comes from hard work," Hayes said. "When there's no one in the gym, he's always here by himself, working on his game. It pays off now for him, no question."
"He's a great player, and great players are going to get that kind of defensive treatment," Scott said. "That said, he made some really tough shots and some really tough plays. There's a reason one guy on the floor is getting free college and the other nine aren't."
After scoring the first basket of the game, Hersey played from behind until taking that brief lead. St. Viator led 10-8 after the first quarter, 23-15 at halftime and 38-32 after three.
"We have to practice situations and learn how to win," Scott said "They hit some great rebuttal shots and made some big plays. We have to take their punches and return with punches of our own. That takes practice."
"At the end I was proud of our guys, to lose that lead and come out with a 10-2 run," Hayes said. "That, I think, took the gas out of them. At the end of the third quarter we were in the bonus already. I'm thankful we were able to make some of them at the end."
Huene and Patrick Schumacher backed Kochera on offense with 9 and 7 points, respectively. Wolff (9) and James Nolan (8) lent their support to Randall's team-high 12 points.